Feedback request from James Ohlen - potential future planets

[rpointon]

Kashyykk or Endor definately ! Seeing either planet in High Detail would be breathtaking ! plus having Endor in the game could then lead to you getting an Ewok mini pet !

[CrymzenSith]

Dantooine

[Spankyjnco]

Hello everyone! James Ohlen, Game Director for Star Wars: The Old Republic, is looking for your feedback on the game's development once again. This week he's looking out to the stars... and the planets of the Star Wars universe.

 

James takes feedback directly via his Twitter account (@JamesOhlen), but if you're not on Twitter, his question is below and you can give your feedback here which will be passed on to him.

 

As always, we ask you to limit your feedback to the question at hand and keep your feedback constructive as well as on-topic!

 

Here is James' question for this week:

 

"What planet in the Star Wars universe do you want to see in Star Wars: The Old Republic that is not currently in the game?"

 

You can name any planet you like, but remember, planets in The Old Republic can be fully explorable (like Coruscant, Tatooine, Hoth etc) and/or destinations that are seen as part of a Flashpoint or Operation (like Taral V, Denova, Kaon, etc).

 

As a reminder, you can follow James on Twitter @JamesOhlen. You can also follow our main account @SWTOR.

 

Quite honestly, I think you guys really need to get a team together and figure out how to take out a lot of the LINEARness that this game entails.

 

Going through the same exact path on 4 characters is grueling. Now I know I can level by PVPing, but you guys have said that PVP is not your focus, so I feel I shouldn't spend any time on it at all if you arent.

[-Sev]

In order of how excited I am about them.

1. Manaan

2. Dathomir

3. Kashyyyk

[Azlesongeur]

Kashyyyk & Dantooine. Would LOVE to see Dantooine after 300 years from KOTOR and see what Czerka has been up to again on Kashyyyk. Walking along those huge tree tops and fighting in the shadowlands were among my most memorable kotor 1 moments from way back when.

Manaan would also be great, I loved the story with their firaxan ancestor and fighting on the ocean floor.

 

:mad:NEVER NABOO, EVER!!! :eek:IF GUNGANS EVER MAKE IT INTO THE GAME YOU WILL FORCE MANY PLAYERS AWAY!

[PintO-Xtreme]

1. Kashyyyk

2. Dantooine

3. Manaan

[LordExozone]

Kashyyyk.

 

I loved the multi-layer design from KOTOR and think it would be awesome to have a forest-planet as its one of the few planet types missing from SWTOR (together with oceanic and lava).

[-Sev]

Messa wanna play me some gungans so I can go to gungan sacred place with big floppy ears and a high pitched voice.

[Ghost_Dancer]

Kashyyyk - gotta love those Wookies

[ArliaSeska]

A planet with real "Night" would be nice. Would like to see planets that we know from the Knights of the old republic games, like Telos, Onderon ,Dantoine or Kashyyyk

[Bennis]

Please for the love of all things star wars, add "Ryloth" and "Csilla"!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! pew pew

 

 

"edit" for those who don't know Twi'lek and Chiss home worlds!

Edited May 3, 2012 by Bennis

[DavieDe]

Kashyyyk and Dagobah, i would not mind Naboo the only Gungan i truly hate is JarJar the rest are not so bad

[Airamesoj]

Dantooine of corse

[Calefein]

Lots of interesting suggestions so I'll just highlight what I thought about some of them.

 

Planets I would love to see:

 

Dathomir as an explorable planet:

A fan favorite - visually interesting - night sisters - enslaved xabrak - rancors - kwa? - rakata - possible to explain both factions being involved there

Kashyyyk as an explorable planet:

A fan favorite - a stop in KOTOR - visually distinctive - wookies - easy to give both factions reason to be there and a lot of stories to tell

Mustafar as a warzone location:

Brilliant suggestion - visually distinctive - heroes battling against their enemies and the very ground beneath them!

Felucia as a warzone/flashpoint/operations location:

visually very distinctive - can go crazy with the local wildlife here - plenty of environmental hazards

Yavin IV as a flashpoint/operations location:

lots of starwars history - Easy to see how some third party trying to wake up/resurect/free a dead sith lord or create a massassi army could get both factions there in a hurry

 

 

Planets suggested that I would not be interested to see:

 

Forest moon of Endor

Why go to Endor when Kashyyyk is more interesting and has a bigger story to tell.

Naboo

I don't like gungans... even killing them as a sith wouldn't even be that satisfying - visually not as distinctive as other locations suggested - local wildlife isn't very interesting either

Dagobah

A lot would have to be invented to give any reason why the factions would be interested in it, almost to the point of destroying it's charm & mystique

Nathema

A description of which would begin with "A dead world"...

Malachor V

It is has been destroyed...

[nailer_]

need an "open pvp" planet

[Farho]

Questing planets: Utapau, Kashyyyk, Naboo, Dagobah, Dantooine (although I find the latter visually boring I'm interested in its future)

Instanced planets: Mustafar, Geonosis, Kamino (love the water based environment)

 

But my two biggest choices are Utapau and Kashyyyk.

[Seraphaim]

On opperation on Centerpoint would be awesome.

[Sybarit]

Manaan

 

It could involve a quest chain involving Kolto and of course the new vista of underwater exploring

[smexymage]

Kashyyyk - I would love to go back through the villages and Shadowlands again.

 

Dantooine - I would love to see how this planet is doing 300 years later. Perhaps the Jedi could rediscover the old enclave.

 

Manaan - Underwater zones are great, so much potential here.

 

The Rakata planet that you crash land on at the end of KOTOR, forget the name(think its Lehon?) but this would be AMAZING.

 

It would be great to re-visit these KOTOR planets to see how things are 300 years later.

 

Nathema, would love to see what a dead planet, void of the force looks like. Something new that TOR brings to the table, would be great addition to the legacy built by KOTOR and its planets. Something that takes TOR forward rather than looking back.

[Ravager]

I think having a mix of planets from the movies, from KOTOR, and from the expanded universe/TOR's own creation is important, as well as making each different in terms of the visual style. This is clearly considered by the art team, as each planet has had its own look and feel thus far. Certainly, there are more opportunities, even when reusing an environment "type." Two ice worlds can feel different, as with Ilum and Hoth, given that the stories are different and color palettes have variety. I don't know how many planets will be added over the course of TOR's lifespan (which James has said to be quite a long time!), but I am a planet enthusiast, and I would love to see as many great story lines added as possible.

 

I list these as having potential in 'large' worlds, though they certainly could be used nicely in smaller sizes, such as Quesh. Even Operations or Flashpoints could expand on these planets.

 

Some ideas I've been thinking about (I speak mostly in terms of potential - obviously, the fabulous writers at BioWare would create interesting stories for these planets to fit them into the overall war):

 

MOVIE WORLDS

 

Geonosis - we have Geonosians in-game already, and there is already an importance for it in the game as a Mandalorian stronghold and the site of the Geonosian arena. There is opportunity PvP wise for the Geonosian arena, and overall it has great significance in the overall war effort. It would be great to see the underbelly of the galaxy holed up here in a similar way to Nar Shaddaa.

 

Kashyyyk - classic movie world that is home to our lovable Wookiee friends, who do have a rather small presence in the game as is. Vertical jungle biome is different from other biomes, and is different enough from Dromund Kaas to fit right in. Also, KOTOR planet gives extra possibilities (would Zaalbar still be alive? They live quite a long time...).

 

Yavin IV - an alternative jungle world. It may be too similar to Kashyyyk in that they are both jungle worlds, but Yavin's history as an ancient Sith stronghold would be great for Imperial players. Exar Kun's tomb is an important location here, and Naga Sadow's tomb would very much be worth exploring further, considering its mention in the Timeline series...

 

Mustafar - we are lacking in lava worlds, and Mustafar has a lot of potential. I say this not only because it's easily the most iconic lava world, but also because of its history. It's been only several hundred years since the cataclysmic event during the Great Sith War that brought the world 'inside out,' and there is plenty to play with. Perhaps the resources now on the surface of the planet are needed by both the Republic and Empire?

 

Bespin (or another gas giant) - this is something that hasn't been played with much in Star Wars games. I feel like this has a lot of potential as a unique biome (transporting via taxi across a station like Cloud City? Sounds like fun!), but obviously there are others that take priority. Of course, I would encourage not being afraid of having small space stations or planets the size of Quesh - not every planet has to be huge, and this one would probably fit better as a smaller planet.

 

KOTOR WORLDS

 

Manaan. It's an environment not yet seen in the game. There is opportunity with going under water. We already have the Selkath models, and there is already a story created regarding its bombardment during the Great War. The Empire and Republic could fight over kolto. KOTOR references galore. Perfect stuff.

 

Onderon/Dxun - if you can find a reason to put Onderon in, I would recommend it. It falls outside of the normal "ice world, jungle world" environment boundaries due to its two contrasting environments (Iziz, the ancient walled city, and the outlying jungle), and is one of the most unique planets in the Star Wars universe. Iziz provides a different kind of experience due to its history from Tales of the Jedi (as well as KOTOR 2) as a rising civilization. The city itself feels a lot older, which separates it from Coruscant or Corellia. It connects to the past more, which distracts from the hum-drum of the current war. Furthermore, there are possibilities with its close moon, Dxun, for Freedon Nadd's tomb - an Operation there or a small chunk of content would be interesting.

 

Dantooine - at the end of KOTOR 2, we see Dantooine is rebuilding since the attack by Malak. There are plenty of opportunities to connect to how Dantooine's government has grown in the past 300 years, and there is plenty to do with the Jedi enclave. It's mention during the Threat of Peace comics can also be referenced. As a plains world, it is very different from what we have already (Balmorra being the most similar, but Dantooine's flat terrain, unique trees, crystal caves, and color palette makes it very different).

 

Rakata Prime - okay, it's a beach planet. It's really nice. More importantly, it's the homeworld of the Rakata and the site of the Star Forge's destruction. There are dark secrets that have not been explored regarding the Rakata and their powers, and the Star Forge itself would be a great asset to both the Republic and Empire...

 

EXPANDED UNIVERSE

 

This is a nice area because even mentions of planets can then be fleshed out by the art team, as done with Voss. Or you can make your own, like Quesh. These are great things to do, but obviously I can't direct that, so I will just mention some EU planets that have good potential:

 

Dantooine - see KOTOR section.

 

Ziost/Thule - I mention Ziost and Thule because, all things considered, we actually don't see a lot of the Sith Empire. Yes, the Sith control half the galaxy, but I am referring to the real Sith Empire. We have seen the occupied worlds, such as Balmorra, but we haven't seen a lot of the actual 'homeland' of the Sith. We see Korriban (a favorite of mine), but, as Sith apprentices, we mostly see the upper echelons of society. Dromund Kaas is a beautiful capital, and shows a mix of the Sith hierarchy, the Imperial military, and every day life - but it's limited. Besides these two planets (and the Imperial fleet), we haven't seen a Sith planet that was controlled before the war began. I think there's opportunity with Ziost, Thule, or another Sith planet to explore what it means to live in the Empire, or see how they react to, say... a Republic invasion (turn the tables a little - how would the Empire react to being invaded themselves or being on the losing side?). Also, Ziost has plenty of potential as an important world in the Empire.

 

Sullust - another alternative to a lava world. It's less iconic, but it's never been realized before in detail, and the Sullustans could have a great storyline.

 

Mandalore - the homeworld of our favorite masked warriors. The architecture is unique, the planet itself is unique, and would be a great addition to the current roster. It could be a haven for mercenaries, neutral groups, and so on.

 

Mon Calamari - an alternative water world, Mon Calamari's water cities would be an amazing sight. Of course, a conflict would need to be established here.

 

Kessel - this might not be a main planet, but an Imperial prison here would feel very Star Wars-y.

 

Tion - it might be too similar to Alderaan story-wise, but the Tion Hegemony would be a very interesting thing to have expanded upon in-game, especially after the Rakghoul epidemic on Kaon.

 

Nemoidia - I always found the architecture here very unique. As a business world, there are a lot of opportunities to expand on the Nemoidians deals with the Empire and Republic.

 

Dathomir - what evil plot could the Sith use with the Witches of Dathomir? I think this has a lot of potential as a questing area, and does a great job of connecting to the EU.

Edited May 3, 2012 by Ravager

[Alue]

Would really like to return to Kashyyyk, Manaan and Dantooine, but would also be very nice to be able to visit worlds like Korriban as Republic. Edited May 3, 2012 by Alue

[Goggymonstah]

Dantooine, Kashyyyk and Manaan, these are given expansion planets due to their appearances in the previous Kotor games, and thus both nostalgic and iconic to this whole Old Republic gimmickery!

 

Other than these there are some more interesting ones as well to choose from, the moon, Yavin 4, ancient temples, mysteries of the Massassi and the likes of ancient Sith Lord Naga Sadow and the fallen Jedi, Exar Kun!

 

The Frozen planet of Rhen Var, where the remains of an ancient civilization lies and other Jedi ruins.

The former Sith World of Thule The Force Harvester, Dark Reaper and great battle shizzle and other ancient stuff and lore from there would be also viable for exploration and adventure.

Dathomir would also be really interesting and perhaps even Byss!

 

And if you want a technologically interesting planet for your artists to make animations and nifty backgrounds and sky objects for, the planet of Kuat! It's even more of a shipyard than Corellia and with a larger emphasis on the military side of things, and in an era of war such as this, likewise more viable too!

Edited May 3, 2012 by Goggymonstah

[Montywithnail]

Hmmm.......so many.........I would have to say given the 'Era' of the game probably Onderon (and Dxun) would probably be good for a mandalorian type flashpoint.

[CountDeMonet]

1. Kessel

2. Kamino

3. Yavin 4

 

But would love to see more of Tatooine! Make it twice as huge (if you cannot tell, my favorite)

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Dantooine, Kashyyyk, Manaan, TelosIV, Bespin, more Coruscant ? All of them ?